Bad start for Vela's tenure at Southside

Updated 4:56 pm, Friday, May 23, 2014

Southside Superintendent Ricardo Vela says he does not recall his wife's salary, and he is vague about his relationship to two other employees, who are coaches.

Southside Superintendent Ricardo Vela says he does not recall his wife's salary, and he is vague about his relationship to two other employees, who are coaches.

Bad start for Vela's tenure at Southside

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SAN ANTONIO -- Recently hired Southside Independent School District Superintendent Ricardo Vela sees no problem with the addition of his wife and two other relatives to the district's payroll under his watch.

In fact, during a recent Express-News Editorial Board meeting, Vela suggested that not allowing them to work for the district could pose a problem.

“I cannot discriminate against family members,” he said.

Vela, who was hired as the district's interim superintendent last summer and was given the permanent post in March, said superintendents often have family working in the school districts they run in the Rio Grande Valley, where he is from.

“In the Valley, everybody and their mother was related to you,” he said, adding that is not necessarily a bad thing.

There is something troubling about a new superintendent taking his cues from South Texas school districts, many of which are in turmoil.

In the past six months, two South Texas school presidents have committed suicide; three members of one family, which include the mayor of a small city and a school board president, were indicted on public corruption charges; a school architect was charged with giving bribes; and state conservators were assigned to oversee a school district. Earlier this month, a political campaign worker pleaded guilty to buying votes during a November 2012 school board election.

These are not exactly models of good citizenship.

That Vela would begin his tenure at Southside on such a note does not bode well for the district.

Many school boards nip the nepotism issue before it becomes a problem by addressing it in the superintendent's contract. Most districts allow relatives to continue in the jobs if they were employed prior to the hiring of the superintendent and outline the degree of separation that must exist between the superintendent and future hires who might be distantly related.

The El Paso ISD superintendent's contract, for example, states “the district will not employ, and the superintendent will not recommend for employment any individual related to the superintendent within the third degree of consanguinity (relation by blood) or second degree of affinity.”

Over at South San ISD, where hiring of family members has long been an issue, the new superintendent is not allowed to hire anyone related to him or any of the board members.

Vela's skimpy contract lacks any mention of nepotism.

The Texas Education Code states only that the superintendent and school board are authorized to hire. In the case of Vela's wife, the interview was handled by an assistant superintendent.

Even if Vela did not do the actual hiring, it is bad public policy for a school board to allow its top administrator's spouse to work in the district.

Norma Vela, who has worked in several other school districts, is employed as Southside ISD's professional development director. The position was initially posted as a coordinator position but was upgraded to director when the opening did not attract any candidates at the lower salary. Three people were interviewed for the job.

The superintendent said he could not recall the salary for the position, and attempts to obtain it from the district went unanswered. A superintendent cannot be expected to know the salary of each employee, but a foggy memory when it involves an upgraded position that went to his wife stretches credibility.

The other two members of Vela's family hired at Southside since Vela became superintendent are athletic coaches. Vela was vague about his relationship with them, saying only that one is a distant relative.

The actions may be legal, but that does not make them right. They set a bad tone for the new administration and will only aid in fostering an unhealthy culture.

The board was wrong to have allowed them, and they raise serious questions about Vela's judgment and his abilities to lead a school district.